NASCAR Hall of Fame

NASCAR Hall of Fame

NASCAR Hall of Fame entrance
Location 400 E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Charlotte, North Carolina
Owner City of Charlotte
Operator Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority
Construction
Broke ground January 2007
Opened May 11, 2010
Construction cost US $160 million
Architect Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body.

History and construction

NASCAR committed to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte was selected as the location. Ground was broken for the $160 million facility on January 26, 2007, and it officially opened on May 11, 2010,[1] with the inaugural class inducted the day following the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXVI. The new Hall of Fame brings hundreds of jobs and an increase in tourism to Charlotte. In addition to the Hall of Fame, the NASCAR Plaza, a 20-story office building, opened in May 2009. The 390,000-square-foot (36,000 m2) structure serves as the home of Hall of Fame-related offices, NASCAR Digital Media, NASCAR's licensing division, as well as NASCAR video game licensee Dusenberry Martin Racing. Other tenants include the Charlotte Regional Partnership and Lauth Property Group. Richard Petty and Dale Inman helped unveil the first artifact at the Hall of Fame — the Plymouth Belvedere that Petty drove to 27 wins in 1967.[2]

The city of Charlotte was responsible for the construction of the building and is the owner of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. However, it is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. Winston Kelley is the NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director. Internationally renowned Pei Cobb Freed & Partners lead the design effort, and Leslie E. Robertson Associates were the structural engineers. Little Diversified Architectural Consulting based in Charlotte is the local architectural firm overseeing many aspects of design and construction of the project. Tobin Starr + Partners served as site architect, providing full-time representation for Pei Cobb Freed & Partners during construction. Engineering and Fabrication of the stainless steel möbius which wraps around the structure was completed by Zahner, of Kansas City. Exhibition design is by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, and exhibition lighting by Technical Artistry. Tobin Starr + Partners is architect-of-record for exhibit and auditorium spaces. Site excavation and grading services commenced on May 21, 2007.

Site selection

Photo taken from the CATS Stonewall Station (May 2009)

Because of stock car racing's roots in and wealth of famous drivers from North Carolina, many NASCAR offices in the area and many teams in the three major series NASCAR competes in (Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series) totaling over 73% of motorsports employees in the United States working in what the committee called "NASCAR Valley", Charlotte was considered the favorite by many fans and commentators. The Hall of Fame is in Uptown Charlotte, about 25 minutes south of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The bid was led by NASCAR car owner Rick Hendrick, then Mayor Pat McCrory, and business leaders in Charlotte. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners were enlisted for the complex's design, which will be near the Charlotte Convention Center.

Hall of Fame building

The building contains the following:

There is a gift shop, the Hall of Fame Café and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant on site. An expansion, which includes a new ballroom, is part of the project.

While most information on the Charlotte bid has been released voluntarily, the Charlotte Observer has asked the state Attorney General for an opinion requiring full disclosure of the financial details.

The self-proclaimed slogan used by Charlotte for the Hall of Fame was "Racing Was Built Here. Racing Belongs Here."

Other final candidates

The other two cities at the time of the announcement that were in the running were the cities of Atlanta and Daytona Beach.

Other bids

The state of Alabama had been mentioned as a potential candidate location, and was no longer seen as a contender, possibly because Lincoln, Alabama is home to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is not affiliated with NASCAR. The only northern area that considered bidding was in the state of Michigan. Detroit prepared bids, but state officials decided not to submit the proposals. The cities of Richmond, Virginia and Kansas City, Kansas, were among the five finalists, but on January 5, 2006, NASCAR announced they had been eliminated from the running, leaving just Atlanta, Charlotte and Daytona Beach as the remaining cities.[4]

Eligibility and selection process

Eligibility

Former drivers must have been active in NASCAR for at least 10 years and retired for at least three. Starting with the 2015 Hall of Fame nominations that were voted in the 2014 nomination process, the three-year rule is waved for drivers who compete in 30 or more years in NASCAR-sanctioned competition or turn 55 years of age, are automatically eligible. The rule applies to all NASCAR-sanctioned competitions; some drivers in the Hall of Fame did not participate in what is now the Sprint Cup Series.[5]

Non-drivers must have been involved in the industry at least ten years. Some candidates with shorter careers will be considered if there were special circumstances.[6]

Selection process

Nomination

A 20-member nominating committee chooses nominees from those who are eligible. The committee consists of:

Induction

After the nomination committee selects the list of candidates, a total of 48–votes are cast by a voting committee consisting of the nominating committee and the following:

Inductees

A total of 35 individuals have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Twenty-seven were inducted as drivers, 18 of whom were inducted solely as drivers. The other nine were inducted for their accomplishments as both drivers and owners or broadcasters. Three were inducted for their roles as owners in the sport. Three were inducted as promoters of the sport. Two members were inducted as crew chiefs.

References

  1. ↑ Lyttle, Steve; Marusak, Joe (May 11, 2010). "Charlotte celebrates NASCAR Hall of Fame's opening day". The Charlotte Observer (The McClatchy Company). Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  2. ↑ Ryan, Nate (October 11, 2008). "First artifact unveiled at NASCAR Hall of Fame". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  3. ↑ Bob Pockrass (May 19, 2009). "NASCAR inks deal with iRacing.com to develop online racing series". SceneDaily.com. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  4. ↑ "Latest Local Charlotte NC News - CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer". charlotte.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (2013-12-05). "NASCAR changes Hall of Fame eligibility process". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  6. ↑ "NASCAR Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on May 16, 2009.
  7. ↑ Caraviello, David. "SPRINT CUP CHAMP TO GET NASCAR HALL OF FAME VOTE". Retrieved 9 January 2014.

External links

Coordinates: 35°13′18″N 80°50′36″W / 35.221599°N 80.843277°W / 35.221599; -80.843277

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